Safeguarding marine ecosystems, species and livelihoods

Thriving oceans provide jobs, improve economies, and feed the world. However, only 3.5% of our oceans are protected, and 90% of the world’s fisheries are overfished or depleted. Sustainably managed fisheries and marine reserves provide hope for protecting biodiversity, habitats and livelihoods.

WildAid prevents illegal fishing and ensures sustainable marine protection and management in some of the most biodiverse regions, protecting habitat, fisheries and species such as sharks, sea turtles and manta rays.

173,758 km2
WildAid has protected 173,758 km2 of marine habitat.

234
WildAid trained 234 park rangers over five years.

8500+
WildAid has protected 8,500+ marine species through our work.

WildAid’s priority marine areas and five-piece protection model

Our mission is to end marine wildlife poaching. We envision a future where marine parks and fisheries thrive under effective law enforcement systems with strong support from the communities and marine resource users that depend upon them. WildAid assists partners that are pursuing sustainable fisheries and marine wildlife conservation goals through our managed process to develop and sustain effective enforcement systems.

We improve global marine protection, management and enforcement. We have active projects in the Galapagos Islands, coastal Ecuador, Palau, Indonesia and Malaysia. Additionally, we foster peer to peer resource sharing and small project incubation via our new Nexus Blue portal. The hallmark feature of our strategy lies in a holistic, integrated enforcement model consisting of the following pieces:

Monitoring, Control and Surveillance: We custom design enforcement systems for marine areas based on identified threats, human resources and budgetary constraints.

Systematic Training: Tailored to local needs, we train park wardens in patrolling, vessel boarding and safety-at-sea.

Policy and Sanctions: We work with lawyers and governments to strengthen legislation and establish effective penalties.

Education & Outreach: We design local awareness campaigns to foster understanding and community buy-in for marine conservation.

Sustainable Finance: We help underwrite operations and reduce operating costs through technology, inter-agency collaboration and/ or exploring new revenue streams.